This invention relates generally to computer-aided design of buildings and, more particularly, to a system for enabling the computer-aided development of a design for a building, along with design development drawings, specifications, and cost and scheduling data associated with the design.
Demands for more expedient, more accurate design, cost, and schedule responses to clients' requests for new building and renovation work prompted the development of the invention described herein. Traditionally, architects, engineers, and contractors (the “AEC Industry”) are pressured to respond ever more quickly to clients' requests for building designs, cost estimates, and construction schedules in connection with construction projects. In addition to needing to respond promptly to their clients requests for information and data, AEC Industry companies need to insure that such information and data is accurate. To remain competitive in today's marketplace, AEC Industry companies also need to dramatically reduce the time it takes to develop the requested information and data, as well as the overall project delivery time, at no expense to the quality of the project or the accuracy of the budget estimate.
Traditional drafting and computer-aided drafting (“CAD”) techniques only serve to disseminate all of the information involved in designing and detailing a construction project and are time-consuming processes that require a high-level of interdisciplinary communication and management between architects, engineers, and contractors. What is missing from traditional design and construction processes is a means to quickly store, manage, and communicate all of the detailed knowledge and professional experience required by the various disciplines involved in the project in order to bring the project to a successful and timely conclusion.
To bring a suitable level of control and efficiency to the AEC Industry processes, it is imperative to centralize all of the project information and expertise in a single, coordinated database that would allow all of the entities involved in a construction project to instantly access and draw from it to expedite management and coordination of the constantly changing information. Such a database system would also be essential in helping to accurately, quickly, and clearly display and communicate the current design state to the various entities, as well as to the client, in order to facilitate informed responses and decisions.
Therefore, what is needed is a computer-implemented automated building design and modeling capability integrated with a construction project cost estimation and scheduling capability within a single system.